President Donald Trump warned that he could "very willingly" order the U.S. military to take out Iran's nuclear facilities if negotiations between the two countries fail to produce an agreement.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
Negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program will return Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman, where experts on both sides will start hammering the technical details of any possible deal.
The talks seek to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's program if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
During an interview with Time magazine, Trump was asked whether he was "worried" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would drag the U.S. into a war.
"No," said the president, who continued his answer after the questioner attempted to change topics.
"[H]e may go into a war. But we're not getting dragged in."
Did that mean the U.S. will stay out if Israel goes into Iran?
"No, I didn't say that," Trump said. "You asked if he'd [Netanyahu] drag me in, like I'd go in unwillingly. No, I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack."
Trump was asked about a report that he stopped Israel from attacking Iran.
"That's not right," Trump said. "No, it's not right. I didn't stop them. But I didn't make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack. I hope we can. It's possible we'll have to attack because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. But I didn't make it comfortable for them, but I didn't say no. Ultimately, I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped."
Trump also told Time he was open to meeting with Iran's president or supreme leader.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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